DOJ Indicts Member of Russian Hit Squad Operating on US Soil

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it has charged five individuals believed to be connected to a Russia-backed murder for hire plot.

The DOJ alleged that the suspects worked for “the intelligence services of the Russian Federation to conduct attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.”

The operation is alleged to have “paid and attempted to pay individuals within the United States and elsewhere to conduct pre-operational surveillance and carry out targeted killings, and commissioned associates to commit and attempt to commit acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine,” according to a press release, which also noted that the suspects have not been apprehended yet.

Since at least 2024, an international syndicate linked to the intelligence services of the Russian Federation has allegedly orchestrated a series of global assassinations and terror plots targeting dissidents, defectors, and nations allied with Ukraine. The Justice Department has indicted five key individuals associated with this operation, including high-ranking Russian operatives and foreign recruiters who actively targeted individuals on American soil. This syndicate is described in the indictment as “one arm of the Russian Federation’s apparatus to carry out external attacks,” utilizing substantial financial incentives to lure individuals into conducting pre-operational surveillance and carrying out targeted hits.

The indictment details several specific assassination schemes, including a thwarted plot to murder a prominent Russian dissident currently residing in the United States. Demonstrating the network’s aggressive reach, operatives “offered U.S. Resident-1 $40,000 to ‘eliminate’ or ‘disappear’ Victim-1” after the resident provided them with requested surveillance media. Furthermore, the network pursued a separate target in Lithuania, whom recruiters characterized as a “bad guy” who was “telling lies about Russia.” Following these elaborate conspiracies, which also involved coordinating arson and logistical support for terror attacks across Europe, all five defendants now face severe federal charges, including conspiracy to finance terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

US charges five people in alleged Russian-backed murder plots https://t.co/OXPcKzeejx https://t.co/OXPcKzeejx

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 16, 2026

There have been several plots involving Russia-backed forces operating on U.S. soil. The Russian intelligence services sought to assassinate a former Russian spy turned CIA informant, Aleksandr Poteyev, in Miami, Florida, in 2019.

The plan fell apart when a Mexican scientist whom Russian handlers recruited botched a surveillance operation and was arrested by federal authorities.

Russian entities have also acted as proxies for other hostile governments. The Iranian regime hired Russian mob bosses to murder journalist Masih Alinejad in New York in 2022. The plot failed when federal authorities found out about it and apprehended some of the individuals involved.

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